I'm a financial journalist and author with experience as a lawyer, speaker and entrepreneur. As a senior editor at Forbes, I have covered the broad range of topics that affect boomers as they approach retirement age. That means everything from financial strategies and investment scams to working and living better as we get older. My most recent book is Estate Planning Smarts -- a guide for baby boomers and their parents. If you have story ideas or tips, please e-mail me at: deborah [at] estateplanningsmarts [dot] com. You can also follow me on Twitter

Friday’s jobs report caused the markets to surge. The August unemployment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that job growth continued in July with 163,000 jobs added to nonfarm payrolls. Still, with the unemployment rate essentially unchanged at 8.3%, many mature workers worry that their age will work against them in a job search.

In fact, their years of experience can be a huge asset to future employers. Some new jobs data suggests that older workers are actually in demand. A recent Challenger, Gray & Christmas study shows that of the 4.3 million jobs created in the past three years, nearly 3 million have gone to people over the age of 55.

Older workers can improve their success rate by focusing on the value of their experience. Here are steps you can take to make age an asset.

1. Network across all platforms. Harness the power of your personal, community, and business network. Mature workers have the advantage of a developed network, both online–for example, through LinkedIn–and offline. Think about your connections and who can potentially refer you for an open position. If your application is marked as a referral, it triples your chances of securing an interview.

Don’t procrastinate when you find out about job openings. StartWire research shows that 50% of successful new hires applied within the first week of a job being posted; 75% applied in the first three weeks. If you find out about a job opening from a contact, send in your application immediately and have the contact mark it as a referral. (See “How to Grow Your Network Without Really Trying.”)

2. Focus on relevant, recent experience. There is no need to list on your resume every position you have held since you entered the workforce. That will put the spotlight on your age, rather than your talent. Instead, focus on work experience that shows you have the skills needed for the job you are targeting. If you can’t make that connection, in your description of a past position, consider downplaying or removing it from your resume.

3. Find employers who will value your know-how. Many employers seek out older workers. Far from being a blemish, your age will put your resume on top of the pile. Financial services firms, for example, have a primarily older client base. To best reflect their clientele, they often prefer older employees.

Other companies, constrained by the current economy, do not have the time or resources to extensively train new hires. They want to bring someone in who can sit down and produce work on day one. This is a growing trend across multiple industries. And don’t overlook startups and non-profits. (See FORBES contributor Kerry Hannon’s post, “Nonprofits Are Hiring–But What Does This Job Pay?”)

4. Don’t ignore glaring resume gaps. While you shouldn’t list every experience held, try to fill in recent resume gaps when possible. Employers will wonder what you were doing, and in the absence of information could assume the worst. If you were forced to take time off to care for a loved one, it is okay to put “caregiver” in place of a gap. If you’ve filled time with volunteer work, include that detail. It’s a bonus if you’ve honed skills while volunteering, so feel free to mention it very briefly. (See too, “What To Say On LinkedIn When You’ve Been Laid Off.”)

5. Stay in the loop. Keep up with trends in your industry. Follow blogs, join relevant groups on LinkedIn, and participate in the discussion. Look for a local networking group for people in your profession, or start one if it doesn’t exist. Joining a group like this or a job club or meetup group for job seekers can help you stay on top of trends. The more people you meet and reach out to, the more you will learn and the more likely you are to find job opportunities.

6. Upgrade your skills strategically. Depending on your field, you may need to advance your skills to be competitive. This is especially true with new technology. Find out what programs potential employers value, and take a class or a refresher course in your community or online. If you’re not already active in social media, develop a digital footprint. (See too, “How To Grandstand (Gracefully) On The Web.”)

7. Practice interviewing. If you haven’t recently participated in interviews, brush up on your skills. Do a practice round with a friend. Focus on the skill set that you can bring to the company. Have a few questions of your own ready–for example, about the company’s plans for the future.

Try to stay away from personal topics. A friendly interviewer and your own nervousness may lead you to let your guard down and reveal personal details that work against you, like health problems and family woes. It’s often in these moments that employers make a decision on your cultural fit for the organization. So show off your best self.

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Having been “laid off” on my 50th birthday, I am well acquainted with the challenges of finding work after the age of 50. I detailed some of the findings in my Spearhead Employment Game essays and described how to scrounge work under this paradigm.

Your tip #3 provides a good clue : you have to market yourself to people your own age. The upside of this is that those older males are typically in a position of power in providing you work. You only need to understand how to seek them out and get an audience, and it is not in the standard ways often described in work-search essays. Sad to say but women are generally useless when applying this method.

I have been very successful with this approach, and my interactions with companies are always with the top dogs and never with functionaries on the lower rungs. After many frustrating and humiliating experiences enduring “job interviews” I made a stand, calling it “The Last Interview” and have never looked back. In corollary with this is a personal “Zero Tolerance Policy” whereby I will simply walk off the premises if subjected to any unprofessional behavior, because I know I can find work elsewhere when and if I need to.

I think all these tips should help experienced job seekers focus their job search and I especially agree with the second tip. Experienced job seekers should value the experience they’ve acquired, and use it for their benefit. We’ve developed a job search guide http://academy.justjobs.com/the-complete-job-search-guide/ that provides other useful tips, including more advice from Chris Forman. I hope you find it useful. – Erich

As a practicing career coach, I agree with #1 and #2. The only thing that holds back “experienced workers” is their own lack of confidence. Age and maturity are wonderful assets. An experienced employee is less likely to make mistakes (ones that cost money) as compared to someone who is still on the learning curve. In the case of 50+ candidates, the resume should be written in a strategic manner so as to leverage experience and knowledge and downplay any [perceived] negative connotations.

While I agree with most of your comments, I’m not with your overall thrust. I interview far too many over 50′s who are looking back at the past and not forwards to what they will do. It’s very much a mindset thing and most of them are missing it. They ignore the fact that if they saved the world in 1995, nobody cares. By the way, I’m 56.

I blogged about this myself at http://fastheadhunter.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/finished-at-50-dont-be-dumb-and-accept-it-fight-back/ last April. For me they’ve got to face the world as it is, and not as it was.

The article headline and focus is about making your age an asset. Yet item number two notes “There is no need to list on your resume every position you have held since you entered the workforce.” and to the pint …. “That will put the spotlight on your age, rather than your talent.”

There seems to be a bit of a contradiction here. The article does go on to note “Instead, focus on work experience that shows you have the skills needed for the job you are targeting. If you can’t make that connection, in your description of a past position, consider downplaying or removing it from your resume.”

If one can not make the connections, then how can one show show ones extensive experience (and age) that the article suggests some employers may be seeking?

I think the key is making those connections between prior positions that do show extensive experience (and age). Having a resume that does “show your age” seems to be OK as long as the results / accomplishments points under an old prior position are relevant to the skills required for the position being applied for.